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Antonio Rodriguez (Earth-616)
Real Name: Antonio Rodriguez Nicknames: No known nicknames Former Aliases: No known former aliases Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases Status Occupation: Former criminal and professional wrestler Legal Status: Legal status unknown Identity: Secret Marital Status: Married (Estranged) Group Affiliation: Former minion of Dr. Karl Malus; former member of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation and the Ultimate Fighting League; currently Vil-Anon Base of Operations: Base of operations unknown or mobile Origin Genetically altered by Dr. Karl Malus as a volunteer Guinea pig in exchange of Malus's services. Place of Birth: San Antonio, Texas Known Relatives: Maria Bonita Rodriguez (wife) First Appearance: Captain America 308 (1985) History Little is known about the background of Antonio Rodriguez other than he had a criminal record and a wife named Bonita. His wife critically stricken with an undiagnosed disease, Rodriguez took her to every doctor who would see her but none was able to help her. In desperation, Rodriguez sought the criminal scientist Dr. Karl Malus, an expert in the generation and bestowal of superhuman powers, whom he heard about while in prison. Malus agreed to try to cure her in exchange for Rodriguez agreeing to become his test subject and employee for an indefinite period of time. Malus subjected Rodriguez to an experimental process that combined genetic material from an armadillo with the man's human genes. Dubbing Rodriguez the Armadillo, he assigned him to break into the Avengers' West Coast compound to steal the comatose body of the villain Goliath, a former subject of Malus who was being held there. Malus provided Armadillo with a serum to reduce Goliath's immense body to something he could transport discretely. Rodriguez agreed but found himself in combat with the visiting Avenger, Captain America. Although physically superior, Rodriguez lost to Captain America's superior combat skills. Trapped in a net due to Captain America, Armadillo decided to explain his situation (after all, he had been talking about a "life or death situation" during all the fight). Taking compassion on the Armadillo's plight, Captain America refused to turn him over to the authorities. Armadillo had to leave because, during the fight, he had lost the serum. Captain America suggested that Armadillo could ask Malus for more serum; however, Captain America wanted to follow Armadillo to Malus' hide-out. There, Captain America injured Malus. Malus ordered Armadillo to attack Captain America, but Captain America advised Armadillo not to; they could inadvertedly damage some artifact that could be vital for Bonita. After Malus cured Bonita, Rodriguez then joined the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation. The Armadillo became a major draw for the UCWF, and remained in his monstrous form to earn money for himself and his wife. Armadillo's manager was Lennie J. Feitler. He became a fan favorite and his victory over Doc Sawbones was seen by Captain America himself. However, when Rodriguez discovered Bonita was seeing another man, a person called Ramon, he went on a grief-stricken rampage, attacking even Feitler and Captain America, that was halted only when he jumped from the side of the Empire State Building. Gravely injured, he was reprimanded to police custody. Rodriguez remains, serving time in the super-villain correctional facility known as the Vault. Truly repentant, he was awaiting his parole for the following years. During the Armor Wars, and due to Iron Man attack on the Vault, the center suffered a power outtage and many prisoners were fred from their cells. Armadillo tried to run away alongside fellow runaways Mister Hyde and Titania. However, she considerd that Armadillo could slow the group and knock him away. Armadillo eventually escaped on his own, finding Captain America's van and a person protecting it: Vagabond, one of Captain America's allies. Vagabond convinced Armadillo to surreder willingly and return to the Vault. She also convinced him to abandon his original scheme to get revenge on his unfaithful wife. However, years later, Loki in disguised appeared on the Vault to help the Wizard escape from the Vault. To do so, he set loose all of the prisoners. Iron Man tried to stop them, and he was attacked by many of the prisoners, including Armadillo. Eventually, Armadillo escaped the Vault before Iron Man could seal it off. More recently, during the Acts of Vengeance, Armadillo fell under the mind control of Doctor Doom and was ordered, alongside many other villains, to attack the Fantastic Four on Washington D.C. while they were giving a speech to the congress. Armadillo and his pals were defeated by The Thing, Human Torch and the She-Thing. Armadillo probably returned to the Vault. He was then summoned from his current moment by Isbisa, a super-villain with time-control powers. Isbisa wanted to distract the She-Hulk with some villains, including Caliban, Jack O'Lantern, Juggernaut, Master Mold, Rhino and Sabretooth - but the villains attacked each other instead of She-Hulk, and so Isbisa could be easily defeated. The villains returned to the moment they were taken from. Again at his cell on the Vault, Armadillo decided he should remain on prison, serving his sentence. Venom engineered a new breakout from the Vault, but Armadillo did not suport it. Alongside with Rhino and the Scarecrow, Armadillo fought Venom's allies Klaw and the Controller - being soundly defeated. Armadillo was seen trying to escape from the Vault during the following massive-breakout-used-as-diversion, this time engineered by the Thunderbolts as a means to free Moonstone. Later, he calimed to be trying to stop the escapees instead of escaping himself, and was convincing enough. He was released under parole. Still a monster, Armadillo frequented the Bar With No Name after his liberation. Finally, Armadillo was contacted by Rey Trueno, owner of the Jersey branch of the Underground Fighting League. Armadillo trained under Coach Cody and became the regional champion in this new version of his former job. As a champion, he defeated a fighter know as Monster. However, he was mocked by the fans due to his monstrous aspect. Looking for a new champion who could be more marketing-appealing, Rey Trueno hired Daniel Axum, formerly known as the villain Battler, and began grooming him. Coach Cady did not help Armadillo to prepare his fight with Axum. During the match, Armadillo felt betrayed and tried to kill Axum, but Axum won the fight and became the new champion. Armadillo was left alone and became a beggar outside the building, ignored by his former partners. Axum saw him and bought him fast food. They talked and Axum discovered that Armadillo did not really hate him or any of the people who had defeated him. Armadillo was alive and grateful for that; the good times will no doubt come soon. With this speech, Armadillo unwittingly convinced Axum to stop his own revenge plan against Spider-Man. However, Armadillo worked again with super-villains Constrictor and Jack O'Lantern to rob an armored vehicle. They were defeated by Hercules and Armadillo was sent to the Raft. Electro assaulted the Raft to release Sauron, and Armadillo was released from his cell - however, he was still chained to another prisoner, Tiger Shark. Spider-Man and Captain America went to the Raft to investigate the situation, and the prisoners, including Armadillo, battled them. Armadillo and Tiger Shark later escaped from the Raft and hide in Fairbury, Illinois. There, he was identified by super-hero Speedball (of the New Warriors) posing as a pizza-boy, specially because Armadillo was saying he would not go back to prison. Armadillo was knocked down during the fight with the New Warriors, and rolled into a ball shape; Tiger Shark used him as a living mace. However, the New Warriors also defeated Tiger Shark, and the villains were re-imprisoned. Armadillo has recently joined Vil-Anon (also known as Villains Anonymous), where criminals worked a twelve-step program to overcame criminal tendencies. Characteristics Height: 7'6" Weight: 1,100 lbs (499 kg) Eyes: Brown Hair: None; formerly black Skin: Orange Unusual Features: All his body has been transformed into an orange-skinned creature with a thick hide and armor plates, similar to an armadillo's Powers Known Powers: * Super-strenght. * Resistance to injury. * Thick hide and armor plates provided protection. * Non-retractable claws capable of rending metal, burrowing through soil and solid rock: ** Can climb up buildings by pounding his claws into the walls. ** Can burrow tunnels with his claws. * Armadillo has also shown mutogenic abilities, which explain the frequent changes in his physical aspect. Known Abilities: Wrestling. Strength Level: He is able to press up to 25 tons. Miscellaneous Equipment: No known equipment. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: No known weapons. Notes * No special notes. Trivia * In the non-canonical role-playing game adventure Mutating Mutants (which takes place between Armadillo's first appearance and Armadillo joining the UCWF), Armadillo is one of Karl Malus' bodyguards alongside with Goliath. The player characters (mainly Wolverine and the New Mutants) are supposed to defeat Armadillo before accessing to Malus' lab. Recommended Readings * Related Articles * External Links * References * The Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe ---- Category:Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Silver Age Category:Male Characters Category:Married Characters Category:Bad Characters Category:Secret Identity Category:No Hair